In the world around us, there are many objects and phenomena that we often take for granted without thinking about their origins. For example, few people know why our hands have 5 fingers, rather than 4 or 6?
Common Ancestors
If you closely observe the smallest creatures, you will see that nature has not only given humans 5 fingers. For instance, cats and dogs also have 5 toes on their front paws, and this is not a mere coincidence.
The appearance of 5 fingers on limbs occurred before ancient creatures were divided into amphibians, birds, and mammals. This took place around 340 million years ago, during the Carboniferous period. Prior to this, creatures with 6, 7, and even 8 fingers existed on Earth.
The reason humans have 5 fingers is significant.
Why Do Humans Have 5 Fingers?
Evolutionary Development
The limbs of humans evolved from fish fins. Despite this, it is very likely that our common ancestors had 5 fingers, and this did not happen randomly. The ancestors of amphibians, birds, reptiles, and mammals had more than 5 fingers in ancient times.
However, during the evolutionary process, this number has reduced to 5 and has not increased since. In some animals, this number has decreased even further. For example, the horse only has one toe, which helps it maintain balance while running.
The horse has only 1 toe.
Why Five?
Science does not know exactly why the number of fingers on our limbs is 5. However, this question can be answered as follows: we have 5 fingers because that is precisely the number our ancestors had, and they had 5 fingers due to a long evolutionary process.
Strangely, it is rare to find animals in nature with more than 5 fingers. This supports the hypothesis that in an evolutionary context, losing something is often easier than regaining it. However, pandas, for example, unlike regular bears, have transformed the bones in their wrists into what is known as a “sixth finger,” allowing them to survive more comfortably. But this is a rare exception.
It is rare to find animals with more than 5 fingers in nature.
